Figures released this week show that Yorkshire and the Humber Region is one of the worst-affected areas of the country, with 74 stations closing in North Yorkshire, 9 in South Yorkshire, 13 in West Yorkshire and 5 in Humberside between 1990 and 2000.
"Despite all the tough talk of Jack Straw and Conservative Home Secretaries before him," said Diana Wallis MEP, commenting on the figures, "it is clear that both Labour and Tory governments have presided over a huge drop in police operational capacity.
"In addition to the closure of police stations, police numbers went down by nearly 500 under the Tories, and by another 1,600 during this Labour Government, largely as a result of sticking to Conservative spending plans.
"I am very concerned that Yorkshire has been so badly hit by these losses; it goes to show that only the Lib Dem policy of pledging to increase police numbers and explaining exactly how we will pay for them will guarantee more officers on our streets and in our villages."
